Mörön, Mongolia
Arriving in Mörön was like arriving in paradise
I ended up spending the next few days with Sophie and Guillame. We stayed at a guesthouse of a sweet couple, that they referred to as Mom and Dad. They were so welcoming and accommodating. Of course, there was no internet so it was difficult to make any plans but there was a fire that was always stoked with wood! The father would come in early in the morning and make sure the fire was still burning. So, so kind!
Moron is a very small town, but the biggest in this area. We spent the time walking around, exploring the area and hiking the surrounding mountains. One of they days we just walked out the front door and said, let’s hike that mountain today. And we just walked straight to it, through the flat lands until we arrived at the base. It goes without saying that it was freezing. The wind was howling as we approached the top but the views were incredible. You could see everything around, and nothing there but the natural landscape.
We came down on the frozen river, skating our way back to Moron. We spent the evenings eating some makeshift dinners, sampled all the Mongolian beers and played cards. It was really enjoyable.
In these homes, there is no running water. Water is brought in through the form of ice, then melted down and boiled for drinking and cleaning dishes. After being in Mongolia for 10 days, personal hygiene needed to be addressed. We had to ask the lady of our guesthouse what people did to clean themselves.
She so kindly directed us to the bath house. As luxurious as this sounds, it was definitely more of a necessity. Previously, I had been so preoccupied with traveling and trying to stay warm that I didn’t have the space to worry about a shower. But now, we were all reaching our limits.
In Mongolia, people will make a trip to the bath house once a week. At the bath house, it’s just a simple building with individual stalls where you can take a basic shower. It costs the equivalent of $1 usd for 30 minutes of hot water. No bells or whistles, just a hot shower.
